We Gotta Talk
by xBlueMagnoliax
Summary: I was asked to write an Alternate Reality one-shot about Daryl and Beth's first kiss and first "I love you." After escaping from Grady Memorial Hospital, Daryl and Beth have been skirting their unaddressed feelings for each other as they settle into Alexandria Safe Zone.


Daryl took a deep breath and sighed, looking over at Beth as they walked together in silence along the walls of Alexandria, checking for any weaknesses in them. It had been weeks since they settled in, and sometimes it still felt surreal that he'd found her. That they were together again. Rick had noticed how much time Daryl spent with Beth. It was hard to miss it.

"_**You two have been spending' a lot of time together. I know you got close out there, after the prison, but I think it's pretty clear to everyone that it's more than that. A lot more," Rick said. "Do you even know you love her?"**_

"_**Come on."**_

"_**No really. You ever been in love before? 'Cause that's what this is," Rick said.**_

"_**How would you know what it is?"**_

"'_**Cause I've been there. 'Cause I see the way you look at her. You've never been like this with anyone. All those things you're feelin', that's what love feels like, brother. But I guess if you've never felt it before, it must be kinda hard to swallow. A little scary, but good?"**_

"_**I ain't afraid of a feelin'," Daryl scoffed.**_

"_**Good. Then go tell 'er," Rick prodded.**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**Go on. Everyone else already knows. Might as well let her know, too," he said.**_

_**Daryl just stared at him. "Bullshit."**_

_**Rick smiled and laughed. "Don't believe me, go ask 'em. Any one of 'em."**_

_**Daryl looked away and down, fidgeting a bit.**_

"_**Hey," Rick said. "It's okay. You're allowed to have feelings, to fall in love, Daryl. To be happy."**_

"_**Yeah, but it's Beth."**_

"_**Yeah." Rick smiled. "It is Beth, and I think she's right for you."**_

_**Daryl shook his head and then glanced sideways at Rick. "Everyone else really know?"**_

_**Rick shrugged. "Probably. You don't exactly hide it well."**_

"_**Does she know?"**_

"_**I don't think so," he said. "But I'm sure she's hopin'."**_

"_**Why would you say that?" Daryl asked.**_

"_**Cause I know her, just like I know you."**_

_**Daryl turned to face Rick, his eyes squinting to hide the hope inside them. "She say somethin' to you? You know how she feels?"**_

"_**Not my place to say," Rick said, shaking his head. "Why don't you go ask her yourself? Find out." He moved to pat Daryl's shoulder. "Take her on patrol with you. You two do that together a lot. Just this time… talk to her."**_

"_**Man, I do talk to her."**_

"_**About your feelings?" Rick asked.**_

"_**Pfft."**_

"_**Maybe you should try," he suggested before turning and walking off. If there was one thing he learned from Lori, it was that there is never time. Feelings are there to be acted upon, especially when they're coming from the right place, and Daryl's and Beth's were all good feelings that Rick could stand behind.**_

Getting Beth back, it had been at such a steep cost. Cårol's death was part of why it was taking so long to talk to Beth about the things that really mattered. It seemed to weigh on them a bit, as they were the ones with her when it happened. It never seemed quite right to talk about the other feelings that seemed to scream louder than anything else inside of him. What was it he felt for Beth? Love, like Rick had said? A crush? Maybe both. Maybe more than that.

Even Cårol had told him, when they were out looking for Beth, not to hold back. Yet, here he was, doing just that.

"_**When we find Beth, you tell her," Cårol said. "You tell her how you feel. You don't waste time. I know you, Daryl. You don't think you deserve it, but you do. To be happy. So you tell her and you hang on tight. Good things… this world has a knack for taking them from you too soon. Like with Sophia, Lizzie, Mika, your brother, Hershel. Don't let that happen with Beth."**_

Every time Daryl let himself think back to the moment Beth was taken, he could feel the physical anguish rack his body. Tightness in his throat and chest, a stone in his stomach, heart in his throat and a tremor of fear that roiled through him from head to toe. He quickly shook off the ghosts of his memories and cleared his throat as he stopped to push against a wall panel, testing it's strength. He looked at her and she was watching him as though expecting words to follow that sound he'd made.

"What?" she asked.

He looked down for a moment as he turned to face her, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. He looked up at her from under his brow. "We gotta talk."

She smiled. "Daryl, we talk all the time."

"Yeah… I mean about that night," he said, watching her smile wane a bit. "The night you were taken."

"You know that wasn't your fault, Daryl—"

"No," he said. "I mean, I know that." He shook his head and shrugged. "I wanna talk about _**before **_that."

There was this long, unsettling silence as Beth's eyes widened slightly, glittering with acknowledgement. "…oh."

"Yeah… _**that**_," he said, rubbing his chin and glancing at her. "There were things I didn't get to say—"

"Don't."

He lifted his head and stared at her. "What?"

Beth felt like her heart was in her throat and the very thought that Daryl would actually be bold enough to put words to that moment, to that look that he'd left her with in the kitchen that night — a look, a warmth, a hope, that had haunted her every waking moment and every dream at night since she was torn away from him.

"I don't know what you wanna say, but I think — I think I know, and… I want you say it, but once you do, that's it. You can't take it back. You can't change your mind. Can't pretend it didn't happen. So if you're not sure… then just… don't."

He quietly regarded her for a moment. "That what you want?"

"No," she said, honestly. "But I care more about what you want."

He rubbed the back of his neck and just watched her as she looked down at the ground and her mud-stained boots with the little hearts stitched into the leather. Finally, she nodded and looked at him, his silence feeling like some sort of answer.

"It's okay," she said quietly, turning to walk away. "We should finish checking the wall—"

She felt him grab her arm and she stopped, still looking down at the ground. She felt him behind her. He still held gently to her arm, his hand sliding down to hold her elbow. Daryl didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. He didn't want her to go, didn't want her to walk away from him and think that he wasn't sure about this. The truth of the matter was that he wasn't sure.

"I don't know what I'm doin'… Never done this before," he muttered under his breath, but his head was dipped down by her ear, so even the softest utterance resonated like a scream through her.

She drew in a breath and closed her eyes, blushing deeply as Daryl just stood there, overshadowing her, looming behind her and wanting to rest his head against the back of hers, wanting to hug her the way she'd hugged him, scared to flex his fingers, let alone move his arms.

"Daryl?" she asked as she felt his hand fall from her arm, yet he stayed so close behind her, his head falling further until it practically touched her shoulder.

"When I lost your trail… I just … stopped. Everythin' stopped. Kept thinking' 'bout what you said that night. How you'd be gone some day…"

She turned her head. "Daryl—"

"I just thought I'd open my eyes and we'd still be in that dumb place with that dumb piano, and you'd be right there. Opened my eyes a hundred times… You were still gone."

Beth tensed her jaw as she felt tears sting her eyes. His tone was different than she'd ever heard it before. He was trying to tell her something with more than his words, and she could feel that, hear it, in his voice. He was speaking from a different place. She turned around to face him, holding her breath as she studied him in the sickly pinks and grays of sunset. He lifted his head and looked at her as she turned to face him.

He nodded. "I can make it without you, Beth," he said.

Her lips parted and her eyebrows dipped down sadly at that confession.

Daryl looked down and brought his hand up to brush against her arm, still so achingly cautious on how to touch her. He couldn't look at her, not when he was saying the words. It made him too nervous, and he needed to say them.

"I just don't want to," he said.

Beth's chin trembled and, if Daryl had any fear in him, it abated almost instantly as Beth's arms wrapped tightly around his waist and the girl embraced him, crushing her had against his chest. His crossbow clamored to the ground. He was frozen for a moment and his heart all but stopped. Time seemed to stand still for a moment and then he brought his arms up and wrapped her up in them. Strong, but gentle.

"Beth?"

She tipped her head back and looked up at him. "I don't want to either."

They stood there like some Roman statue, forever locked in each other's embrace and lost in some eternal stare, as neither knew what to do next. Yet Daryl swore, in the moments when everything went quiet enough, he could hear both their hearts pounding like war drums. He was terrified, by her closeness, by these feelings. He liked to pretend he wasn't, but he was. Yet he wanted nothing more than to just fall trustingly into them when it came to Beth.

"I have a secret," Beth whispered, blushing as she pulled back and out of his arms, tucking some loose hair behind her ear.

"From me?" Daryl asked.

"From everyone," she said.

"Well, I told you mine," he said.

"You didn't, really," Beth noted with a smile. "But maybe you will, after you hear mine?"

Daryl nodded a bit, every inch of his body feeling flushed and weak, which was not a feeling he was used to. He considered himself the picture of strength, capable of handling anything, and yet these feelings, this girl, made him feel like he was made of jelly.

"Well, go on," he said, clearing his throat, trying to find his voice, his confidence once more. "Can't be that bad."

"It's not," she said, smiling. "I mean, I don't think it is. I just… don't wanna scare you."

"Pfft. Come on. This is me you're talkin' to," he said.

"Exactly," she said, which made him wilt a little, as she clearly knew him better than he knew himself right now.

"Well… whatever it is, I can handle it," he said, though the truth was, he was scared. The not knowing was worse. Sure, she'd said she didn't want to make it without him, but that wasn't exactly a confession of feelings. What if she was about to tell him that she didn't feel the same way he did? What if she was about to show him where the concept of a crush got its name, by crushing him?

Beth looked down and pushed at a rock in the dirt with the toe of her boot, coyly. "I… I really wanna kiss you," she said meekly.

"What?" Had he heard her right? He thought maybe this was the point where he woke up to discover this was a dream.

She looked at him and clenched her hands into fists at her sides, not out of anger, but to steel herself with enough courage to just say it, loud and proud. "I wanna kiss you, Daryl Dixon!"

"You lost your mind, girl?" he asked, stepping in to her. His head was spinning. There was no mistaking her that time.

"Why you gettin' so upset?"

"I ain't!" He didn't know how to react or what to do with himself. He was happy, but at the same time, this was so new. He was intimidated.

She watched him for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as she sought out any words that might help. "I just thought…" Beth stammered, looking away, embarrassed by his response. She was worried now that maybe she hadn't known what he was going to say to her earlier. Maybe he didn't have those feelings for her. She was mortified and disheartened at the thought. "I don't know what I thought. Maybe I thought you felt the same way."

Daryl watched her as she seemed unable to look at him. It was a familiar response, as he often felt himself too painfully shy to hold her gaze when he eked out a confession. "… I do."

Beth lifted her head and looked at him, noticing how cautiously his eyes met hers. She smiled, "Really?"

He nodded his head, but held her gaze, even as it made him fidget once more where he stood. "I ain't ever lied to you. Won't start now. Not 'bout this."

Beth nodded and then, as though they both felt the awkwardness of the moment finally catch up to them, they both looked down and away, shifting in place. Beth rubbed one of her shoulders. "Why's it feel so weird now?"

"'Cause I'm thinin'," Daryl said.

"'Bout what?" she asked.

He glanced over at her. "… How I'm gonna kiss you."

Beth felt the blush stain her cheeks, the heat spreading to her chest. She could see how nervous he was, and he could see it in her as well, but she wondered if he'd ever find the courage to be so bold with her. "Maybe you don't have to. Maybe I kiss you."

"No."

Daryl stepped up to Beth, looking down into her wide, blue eyes. His hands came up, hovering over her arms, awkwardly seeking out where to place them as he bobbed his head in with obvious uncertainty over what he was doing. Beth's hands finally captured his face tenderly between them and she rose up on the balls of her feet, her lips pressing against his with gentle pressure. His stubble tickled her chin and her cheeks and he returned the kiss with an instinctive eagerness. She thought she felt him tremble, only to realize, as his hands grasped her sides, that she was the one shaking.

Daryl could feel her nervous energy, despite her courage, and something about it excited him. He wasn't alone in the fear, the newness of this moment; they were in it together. Every moment their lips touched he felt bolder and bolder, his hands moving over her back until he was embracing her again, holding her to him. The exchange lasted a few brief moments, but had felt like an eternity for them. Time stood still for Daryl again and, unlike before, it was for something good. The moment with Beth, the kiss, was soft, timid, but more than he could have dreamed it would be, if he'd dared to let himself dream of kissing Beth Greene.

That first breath of air after their lips parted was like the first gasp of a new beginning. He looked down at her and watched as she opened her eyes. She was clinging to him and dropped herself down off the balls of her feet as he held onto her.

"So…" she said, watching him curiously, blushing like a rose. "What… does this mean?"

He smirked. "Hell if I know."

She smiled and laughed, shaking her head. "You do, though. It's your secret, isn't it? You still haven't told me…"

Daryl's smile faded a little as he studied her quietly for a moment. He tensed his hands against her back, as though to keep her from fleeing from him, like he had something to fear in that. "I like you," he said. As he watched her, though, the smile that didn't seem to falter on her face, it dawned on him that it was more. Much more. Like Rick had said, like Cårol had said.

"No, I… I _**love **_you… Beth."

The words tumbled out, foreign and feeling odd on his tongue. He'd never said them before, not to anyone, except his mom when he was little. What caught him the most was that… he meant them. Each little word; he meant them all.

Beth watched him with wide-eyed wonder and she smiled. "I love you, too."


End file.
